India

India is home to more millionaires and billionaires than any other country in the world. It also contains the world’s largest number of poor people, with almost 70 per cent of the population living on less than two dollars a day, and 400 million people classed as living in extreme poverty. Despite having one of the world’s strongest growing economies, around one fifth of Indians are undernourished, and approximately a third of adults cannot read and write. The country’s infrastructure remains poor, with around 400 million people having no electricity supply, and more than 600 million having no sanitation.

Malteser International is working in India in close cooperation with its partners to contribute to poverty reduction through development and community participation, and to help make members of marginal groups less vulnerable to natural disasters, which can affect them disproportionately to the rest of the population. Our multi-sectoral approach is intended to help communities to break the poverty and aid dependency cycle.